The Trail of Lucky Spencer: Family Matters
by Gillen1962
Summary: A brother and sister have coffee. A secret room and a surprising file. A trip to the Bronx. And a long over due apology. Just another morning in Port Charles


_Family Matters_

Serena Baldwin arrived at her desk at 0700, by 0900 she understood why her father, Scotty Baldwin, was such an incredible attorney. It was not his presence in the court room, which was often Serena thought comedic, it was not his brilliant legal mind, though Serena thought that her Dad was a pretty smart fellow, it was his ability to bury his opponent in massive amount of legal paperwork and filings. She rubbed her eyes and gave a long deep sigh. She looked at the phone on her desk and picked it up. She sprung the chair around and dialed.

It rang on the other end and Drew Cain picked up:

"Hello" He said.

"Hi, Seal, it is your favorite sexy Baldwin."

"Franco?"

Serena laughed out loud. "Seal, my brother is a lot of things, but I am not sure about sexy. I wanted to wish you a good flight and say I had a good time last night."

"Thank you and me too. Can we do it again when I get back?" Drew Said.

"You bet. Watch your six, Seal."

"I will Officer, see you"

Serena was pleased at the big grin on her face as she hung up, she was less pleased when she spun her chair back and saw a man standing in front of her.

"I'm not sexy?" Franco Baldwin said smiling.

"How did you get in here?" Serena said rising to yell for what ever idiot wasn't at their desk.

"It's a gift." Franco said. He held out a brown paper bag and said. "I brought Cinnamon Buns."

"From Kelly's" His sister said suspiciously.

"Is there any where else in Port Charles to get them?"

Elizabeth Baldwin, Franco's new bride, stepped behind the nurse's station on the ninth floor of General Hospital and handed a file to Bobble Spencer, the head nurse on duty. "Bobbie, here is Mrs. Johnson's test result, do you want to see them before Lucas does?"

Bobbie took the file without really looking at what she was doing.

Elizabeth looked at her puzzled. "Bobbie are you alright?"

Bobbie shook her head. "Yes, I am sorry Elizabeth, I think I am just tired."

Elizabeth smiled. "Yeah, you have been doing a lot of extra stuff while Epiphany had been on leave."

Bobbie sighed. "Poor thing."

"Yeah, any word on when she is coming back?"

Bobbie shook her head. "No, she is taking Milo's death so hard. I meant who can blame her."

"I know he was such a sweetheart. "

Bobbie nodded. "And such an innocent in the middle of that whole mess."

Elizabeth gave Bobbie a sad smile. They both knew that Elizabeth wanted to ask how Carly, Bobbie's daughter was doing, but really what is the proper etiquette for asking how the daughter of a friend is doing after her husband has had his criminal empire wiped out and institutionalized in a mental health facility , lost her personal fortune and had her best friend skip town without so much as a good bye?

Elizabeth thought briefly of Jason, her son Jake's birth father, she did not love him, though she would always have a soft spot for him. Sam had come buy and they had explained to Danny and Jake that their Dad was away on business and may be gone for a long while. Elizabeth imagined it was harder on Danny to have Jason gone then on Jake, Sadly for too many years all three of her boys had to deal with absent fathers, Cam's father Zander was dead, but Jake and Aidan, Jason's and Lucky's sons had to until recently adjust to fathers who were often gone, for little or no good reason.

Now though, Elizabeth thought warmly all three had Franco. She laughed at the thought that the infamous Franco Baldwin had somehow evolved into a wonderful husband and a great, if sometimes befuddled Dad.

Bobbie Spencer and Elizabeth Baldwin, friends, mentor and student, coworkers, for decades stood unable to find words to say to each other.

The awkwardness ended with the ding of the elevator and the appearance of roguish financier Jaspar Jacks.

Jax came over to the Nurse's station and said. "Well if it is not my two favorite nurses."

The women returned his greeting. Jax turned to Elizabeth and said. "I spoke with Hayden, she said she will be back in town, late this week, or early next week."

"Or late next week, or early the following week" Elizabeth said with a smile. "My sister is nothing if not consistently inconsistence."

Jax raised an eyebrow and said. "I agree" He turned to Bobbie and said, "Can I steal you for a second?"

The older woman nodded and followed Jax over to the elevator. "What is up with Carly?" Jax asked. "Joss and I are both getting concerned."

Bobbie took a long deep breath. "Jax, I…there really…I just do not know how to put this. I think Carly is losing her mind."

"Is it that bad?"

Bobbie shook her head. "Look, you need to make your own judgement, she has moved back into the Harbor View House."

"With you?"

"For now, I may have to move."

"Why?"

Bobbie touched Jax's arm. "I think that you should go see for yourself."

A week in the small town of Corinth had been all that Jason Morgan could stand. He had gone there using the identity of Alan Lee Holt in order to be sure that the Albanian, the gangster that had taken over Sonny's territory in Port Charles was not following him. Now sure that the Albanian was true to his word and as long as Jason was not in the city then he was to be left alone, Jason, still using the name Alan Lee Holt, stepped off the Greyhound bus at its Fordham Road stop in the Bronx.

It took Jason about ten minutes into his thirty-minute walk to Bainbridge Ave to realize that while he thought he would hate New York City and that the overwhelming press of people and the emotions that they carried would be too much for him to handle, just the opposite was the case. His destroyed frontal lobes made it difficult for him to process emotion and to express it. Normally Jason was only comfortable mimicking back the emotion that was shown to him.

He had always felt that the press of emotion in a large city especially one the size of New York would simply overwhelm him. Instead it was quite the opposite. While there were tons of emotions swirling all around him, they were for the most part superficial and as false in their own way as his carefully calculated return of emotion to those he dealt with. The cabby yelling at the car in front of his was not really angry, the girl skipping rope on the street not really that jubilant. The emotions were quick and fleeting. So instead of the painful bee sting that normal emotions were to Jason, these were like summer mayflies, there and then gone with no real harm

He arrived at the address of the apartment he had rented sight on unseen online, in the deeply Albanian Neighborhood in the Bronx of Pelham Parkway. He knocked on the door of the landlord's apartment. A young woman with a large stock of brown curly hair and deep brown eyes answered the door.

"C'kemi" She said.

Jason stared at her.

"Sorry Hello. C'kemi, is hello in Albanian, kind of." The girl said laughing. "I'm Rovena, how can I help you?"

"I'm Alan Lee Holt, I spoke to your husband about renting 2-a?"

She smiled "Father, you spoke to my father they have not married me off yet."

Jason smiled.

Molly Cassadine-Davis was finishing her Orange Juice and checking her backpack to make sure that she had everything she needed for her trip when her Uncle Valentin entered the breakfast room at Wyndemere.

"So, all packed?" He asked her.

Molly nodded. "Yes, thank you so much for arranging this."

Valentin smiled. "My pleasure actually. I am trying not to pry as to why this sudden trip to the City of Lights, and without I am assuming the dashing young soon to be Doctor Ashford."

Molly smiled. TJ Ashford her long time boyfriend had been less then thrilled that she was off to France without him.

"This is a business trip Uncle; I think I have a story lead."

"May I ask what?"

Molly knew that her Uncle had been involved with Peter and Fasion in the memory transfers of Jason Morgan and Drew Cain and she did not wish to draw him into this story but she was also determined to be a different kind of Cassadine and not fall into the family trap of lying to one another.

"Drew Cain and Serena Baldwin, who seems to be with Army Intelligence, have a lead on a research scientist who may be able to help Drew regain his memories without losing those he gained over the past six years. Drew is going to Paris to try to find her, apparently she has been kidnapped."

"And you are going with him?" Valentin asked.

"No, I am following him."

Valentin laughed. "Why how Cassadine of you Molly. Did you catch the name of the scientist, perhaps I know her?"

"Dr Al-Fayheed. I did not catch a first name."

"Soumia Al-Fayheed." Said Valentin. "Come with me for a moment. I have something that may help."

Serena set a cup of coffee in a US Army Mug in front of Franco, she took her own full mug and sat behind her desk, watching her brother unpack the cinnamon buns from the bag and pushing one across to her.

She tore off a piece and took a bit. He sipped his coffee.

They sat.

They looked at each other, Finally Serena began to giggle then laugh. Franco looked puzzled.

"Fine pair of Baldwin we are sitting quietly" She said.

Franco smiled and laughed. "Scott would be appalled."

"That he would. I have never seen Dad go more than half a minute without saying something."

The siblings sat again for a minute. "So, an attorney" Said Franco "Following the family business."

Serena Shrugged. "With my own twist. I don't think Dad ever thought about the service"

"No, but wasn't Lee in service during World War II?" Franco said.

"The Marines, yes, He flew F4U Corsairs and participated in the invasion of Peleliu. But he went to law school after the war."

"Still impressive, as is your service" Franco said rightly.

"Thanks, so you do art therapy now is that right?"

"Mostly, I do some paintings on the side." Franco took out his phone and pulled up a picture. "I am almost finished doing this one I plan to give it to Scott."

Serena looked at the painting of their Sister Karen. "Oh my, Oh Franco, oh god that is so lovely. It looks just like her, her eyes, her smile. "Serena sobbed a little.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry. "Franco said softly.

Serena waved her hand. "No, No these are happy tears, I love it, Dad is going to love it. I miss her so much."

"Yes, I heard you guys were close."

Serena nodded. "Yes, her death hit me so hard. "

Franco agreed. "I know Scott still misses her. He misses Logan as well."

"I never even got the chance to meet him before Lulu Killed him."

"Lulu Falconeri?" Franco asked.

"Well, Lulu Spencer than but yeah, and Maxie Jones helped her cover it up, and the two of them wonder why I don't like them."

"Well if its any consolation I tried to kill Lulu once."

"Really?" Serena said amazed.

"Well I had a brain tumor." Franco added shyly.

Serena waved her hand. "Whatever Brother, dish the tea, did the little bitch wet herself?"

Alexis Davis sat at the bar of Charlie's drinking a cup of coffee. Her former husband Julian Jerome, the father of her oldest daughter Sam, came over and refilled her coffee cup for her.

"You okay?" He asked. "You look worn."

Alexis smiled. "Do me a favor, pour a shot and drink it for me."

Julián laughed. "You are kidding right? It's ten AM."

"Which is why I asked you to drink it for me."

Julian laughed but amused his ex by pouring the drink and downing it in one gulp. "Feel better?" He asked her.

"A little It would likely take several more, but I have to work today."

"Well good for you showing discretion." Julian quipped. "Want to tell me about it?"

"Well, it turns out that the Father of my Middle child is locked away in Ferncliff, after being exposed as a sexual harasser and losing his criminal empire, Our daughters boyfriend, father of her oldest child has skipped town and the weight of that seems to not have registered with Samantha at all, That Middle Child I mentioned is feuding with my youngest child and blames her for everything that happened to her father and oh here is the kicker, my youngest, the one I never had to worry about at all, has suddenly decided that she is a Cassadine."

Julian was at a loss for words.

Alexis looked at him and said. "Go ahead say it, not only am I a failure as a mother, I am a spectacular failure as a mother."

Julian smiled. "You are one of the best mothers I know. Sometimes no matter what you do kids take their own paths. Well mine certainly have. Maybe instead of framing it all in the negative frame it in the positive?"

"Oh, please enlighten me as to how I do that?"

"Well truthfully, isn't Our Sam better off without Jason? And isn't she safer with Sonny and Jason both out of the mob?"

"Says the former mobster." Alexis retorted.

"Yes former, and because I am a former mobster: Leo and Lucas and Sam are all safer, aren't they?"

Alexis had to agree. "Yes."

"So then doesn't it stand to reason that with Jason and Sonny are out of the mob that Sam and even Kristina and Danny are safer."

"But not happier."

"Which is more important?" Julian asked.

"Okay you got me there. But Kristina is so angry I am afraid she is going to do something stupid."

Julian whistled and looked away.

"What?" Snapped Alexis.

"Frankly, it is Kristina, doing something stupid is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when." Julian said.

Alexis wanted to object, she really really wanted to object. Instead she just sighed at the reality of what Julian had said.

"This time I am most worried about Molly." She said changing the conversation to save face.

"Is she really living at Wyndemere now?" Julian asked.

"Yes and calling herself Molly Cassadine-Lansing."

"Ah, open rebellion not a Molly trait."

"You think that is what this is, just open rebellion?"

"Do you think it is more?"

Alexis cracked her neck and took a long slow sip of her coffee. "I'm not sure, some of the things she said, even though she was angry made some sense. I mean, well you know, if that article had been written about any other man other than Sonny I would have been out on the street corner praising passersby about my daughter and how she was standing up for the rights of women, for the unspoken, the ones who had been kept silent for so long."

"But it was Sonny."

"it was Sonny and I did what I have done for years now, I defended his behavior even though it was abhorrent."

Julian looked away. Alexis watched his face change. He walked down to the end of the bar and waited on another customer. Then slowly came back to her.

"I need to apologize to you. I have needed to apologize to you for years, and because I am not the of men, well I avoided it."

"Apologize for what?" Alexis said genuinely puzzled.

"I am not any better than Sonny, am I? You were sixteen the night you wandered into that bar."

Molly followed Valentin down the long main hallway of the west wing of Wyndemere through the library and to what she had until now assumed was a closet door. Valentin took out a key and unlocked the room.

"Ohh a locked room, how very Gothic" She said with a smile.

Valentin laughed. "We Cassadines are nothing if not Gothic. "

They stepped inside a room which looked like a man's den from the 1900's complete with a globe that was open to reveal a bar. There was a large wooden file cabinet to one side and Valentin went over and opened the cabinet, rummaged through it for a moment than took out a file.

He walked over to an old-fashioned roll top desk and sat down he motioned for Molly to take a seat.

"This room was set up by Stefan when he first came to Spoon Island, it duplicates a room that our Father Mikkos had in Greece, which duplicated a room his grandfather had had in Russia, no one but those of Cassadine Blood enter this room. So, Nina, and Laura and half a dozen others who have lived here have never entered it. "

Molly's eyes widened. "No one?"

"Well. "Valentin said smiling. "I heard a rumor that Luke Spencer broke in once, but really that man was like a cockroach on this island hard to keep out of anything."

They both chuckled.

"Any way what we keep in here is…well I suppose the best expression is the one that politicians use…opposition research…men and more recently women…who could prove to be opponents someday."

Molly laughed. "Luke Spencer must have a large file."

"The Spencer's and Scorpio's have their own room" Valentin said deadpan.

Molly was not sure if he was kidding or not and decided not to ask.

"At any rate, these are files on people who may not only be a physical threat to the family, but a financial one as well even if they are occasionally allies: Your cousin young Michael Quartermaine for example. "

Again, Molly nodded.

"The woman that you and Mr. Cain are looking for Soumia Al-Fayheed is the first scientist to emerge from a prominent middle eastern family whose relationship dates back with our family to the days of the Ottoman Empire and the Russo-Turkish War. Her family, some great-great-great grandfather I assume in Morocco sought to betray the Ottoman Empire to Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, giving him the defenses for such port cities as Carthage and Tripoli."

"Wow. Peter the Great was not a Cassadine was he?"

Valentin shook his head. "No No not at all but the Cassadines were his closest advisors. So, the Al-Fayheed's approached us first."

"And?"

"And Vladimir Cassadine stabbed him declaring that the Russian Empire needed no help from traitors to defend itself from Turks."

"A bit of an Overkill don't you think?"

"Cassadine's are known for our overkill Molly." Valentin said. "Any way when one of the Al-Fayheed family became a leading scientist I gathered a folder on her. And I was quite amazed by some of the things I found."

He past the folder over to Molly. Who opened it and began to flip through it. She paused and took a photo out

"Is this Dr. Al-Fayheed?" She asked.

Valentin nodded.

"And the man with her?" Molly said looking amazed. "Is that Lucky Spencer?"

Valentin nodded. "Yes, Molly it is."

Serena Baldwin looked at her brother and smiled. She had not really wanted to get to know him, she had in fact avoided him pretty much since she had found out about his existence.

She still had some reservations about him. Still did not know how a man changed from a serial killer to a suburban father but apparently that was exactly what he had done.

They had finished their coffee and as much as both were enjoying each other's company, they both also had work to get to. Franco stood up and smiled. "Well this was fun, but I have art therapy with the children's ward coming up and I have to hide all the breakable objects."

Serena Laughed. "Smart idea."

Franco kind of hesitated. "Look, I was wondering, I mean I would understand if you didn't want to, but would you like to come to dinner tonight at the house. I know that Elizabeth and the boys would love it."

Serena hesitated. Dinner with Elizabeth Webber, the ex-wife and the sons of the man she was about to prosecute for treason may not be the most appropriate thing.

Franco misunderstood her hesitation and said. "Look, I am sorry if I overstepped. I just really had a good time, and well I wanted you to meet my family."

The hurt look on Franco's face registered with Serena. Karen was gone. She had never had the chance to know Logan. This man for all his checkered past was the only brother she would ever have. "Yes, I would be delighted. I am sorry I was just figuring if I could get this paperwork off my desk at a decent time."

"And can you?"

"Sure, can we say 1830?" Serena answered Franco.

"We can but you need to tell me what that means."

They laughed.

Jax knocked on the door of the house he had shared with Carly. It felt odd to be knocking on his own front door, but he had left the home to Carly and Joss years ago,

He was surprised when Dev opened the door.

"Dev?" he said, "Are you living here now?"

The boy shrugged. "I'm not sure. Miss Benson wants me over here to answer the door for gentlemen callers, whatever they are."

Jax looked at the boy like he had lost his mind. "Benson?"

Dev shrugged. "That is what she is calling herself now Carly Benson"

Jax's eyes widen. All right then he thought as he asked, "Can I come in?"

"Please" said the young man and as Jax passed him and stepped into the large open foyer whispered, "I think she has lost her mind Mr. Jacks."

Jax was just about to turn around and ask the boy what he was talking about when Carly came down the grand staircase.

Jax wondered if he had arrived in time for a Halloween party. Carly was dressed, if you could call it dressed, in a tube top that barely covered her breasts, a pair of Daisy Duke shorts and cowboy boots.

"Hey there Jax, we ain't got no girls working yet, but I guess I can make an exception for you and let you have a ride with me."

Jax shook his head. "Carly, what the hell is all this?" He said it pointing to her outfit, she took it to mean the house,

"Well Jax, this is Lady Benson's the best little whorehouse in all of Port Charles."

Alexis sat back a bit. "Yes, I was sixteen."

"I was nineteen I should have never…. well you know."

"I was sixteen in a bar with a false ID saying I was twenty-one. You were nineteen in the same bar with your own fake ID saying you were twenty-three. That is entirely different than Sonny."

Julian shook his head. "No, it is not. I took advantage of your innocence and the fact that you were drinking and mad at your father and all of that. I was wrong."

Alexis let the apology run through her head. And for the first time in more than thirty years she realized that she was indeed owed an apology and that this man, who she alternatingly loved and loathed did owe her one.

Why she wondered was she so quick to realize that Julian owed her an apology, one that she was going to accept when she had jumped to the defense of Sonny for doing so much worse.

"I accept your apology." She said sincerely. "I consider this to be a settled matter between us." She held out her hand and Julian shook it.

"Thank you."

Alexis kept tilting her head from side to side. Julian knew that meant she was processing something.

"What?"

"You did owe me an apology, which I accept honest. But why was it so easy for me to see that you were in the wrong, so easy to see that yes you are right to say that you were wrong, and yet so hard for me to see the same thing about Sonny?"

Julian poured himself a cup of coffee. "Want my answer?"

"Yes"

"This whole city has gotten so use to making excuses for Sonny that you all suffer from some kind of battered wife syndrome from him. I mean come on the man shot his son in the chest!"

"Well he didn't know at the time that Dante was his son." Alexis said and then dropped her head on the bar. And mumbled "Oh my God. You are right."

Julian smiled. "Of course, I am right, think about it. If I came to town and somehow shot Lucas in the chest before I found out he was my son, would everybody be like 'well it was okay he didn't know the boy was his son'. Hell, no they would have found a tree and strung me up." Julian took a drink of his coffee and went on. "You all got so use to just accepting outlandish behavior from Sonny and you chalked it up to business, or his mental health, or that he was trying to protect his family. He blew up a car that Kristina was supposed to be in. What the hell would you have done to me if I did the same to Sam."

"I would have killed you where you stand."

Julian nodded and said. "Look I am not patting myself on the back for finally realizing how wrong I was all those years ago, or for apologizing, but damn the stuff that Sonny has gotten away with that you all have just turned around and forgiven is insane. Frankly I am not sure if Sonny should be alone at that facility."

Alexis finished her coffee. "He killed my sister you know."

"Kristina's namesake."

"Yeah he and Jason and Roy and Alacazar. And the only one who paid for it was Alacazar."

"You killed him."

"I was acquitted,"

"Of course, you were, that is the other reason this town forgives Sonny."

"Excuse me."

"As long as Sonny is the moral compass the rest of you all get away with horrible things."

"That is not true."

"Really, did it ever puzzle you why a good honest doctor like Steven Lars Webber is doing a long stretch in prison while Sonny is out and about?"

"Justice is blind."

"Not in Port Charles. In Port Charles Justice is harsh on those who have the nerve to try to be a moral center and by their very virtue show up the likes of Sonny"

"That is a hard condemnation." Alexis said.

"This is a hard city."

Serena rose excited to greet the two guests that her aide had just buzzed in. She raced to the door and hugged the older of the two men as he came in "Uncle Mac."

Mac Scorpio the Acting Police Commissioner of Port Charles had been her stepfather Kevin's best friend as she was growing up. While she was not close to his stepdaughter Maxie, or even her late sister Georgie, she had always loved when Mac would join Kevin for an afternoon of watching soccer and some how always find the time to talk and chat with her.

Mac returned the hug. "Captain. It is good to have you home."

"It is good to be home. I have been meaning to call you and Felicia."

"And Kevin?" Mac asked.

Serena shrugged. "I wasn't sure with Mom and he divorced and with things the way they are with Livvie if he would be happy to see me."

"Kevin and Laura would both love to see you, you should know that."

Laura Collins-Webber the mayor of Port Charles was Scotty's ex-wife, the two had been married as young people and had rekindled a good portion of that romance when both lived in Paris, Serena had been in college by then, but she recalled that when she would visit her father was always happy and cheerful. Laura had been the one to talk Scotty off the ledge when Serena had announced she was enlisting.

"I'll call them"

She noticed the other man for the first time and put out her hand. "Serena Baldwin."

"Harrison Chase," He said. He was handsome she thought.

Mac put a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Detective Chase is one of Port Charles best detectives."

Serena smiled. "Well in a city filled with good police, a ton of private investigators, well-meaning amateurs and more spies then a James Bond novel that is indeed high praise."

Chase and Mac laughed. Serena motioned to the chairs by her desk. "So, I take it this is not just a social call."

Mac sighed. "No, it is not I am here for a prisoner transfer."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, Judge Dunning of the Federal Circuit Court has signed a transfer order based on a motion filed by Scott Baldwin for a civilian prisoner that you are holding here."

Serena suddenly had a headache. "MY father did what?"

"I am sorry Serena, but I am here to pick up Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Jr. From your custody. Can you please go and bring Lucky in?"

_**(Author's Note: The Military service during the second World War attributed to Lee Baldwin is the actual military service of Peter Hansen the man who played Lee for so many years. Like so many of the men and women of the Greatest Generation Mr. Hansen was a silent hero of Democracy. Today more then 1000 members of the Greatest Generation pass away every day, soon our opportunity to thank them will be gone. If you see one today give them a big hug and say thank you.)**_


End file.
